Rutgers Basketball: Jim Valvano Honored With Court Dedication

Rutgers University will name the athletic court at College Avenue Gym after the late Jim Valvano.

Little known fact of the day: Jim Valvano played basketball for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Everyone who has seen his famous 1993 ESPY speech knows he coached for a spell at Rutgers — an anecdote in his story about the first pre-game speech of his career.

“Listen, I’m 21 years old. The kids I’m coaching are 19, and I’m going to be the greatest coach in the world, the next Lombardi. I’m practicing outside of the locker room, and the managers tell me you got to go in. Not yet, not yet, family, religion, Rutgers Basketball.”

The punchline wasn’t until a minute later, but the story drew a laugh big enough to make Jerry Seinfeld blush.

Now some 15 years later, the school where Valvano cut his teeth on the court and sideline will honor him with a court dedication at the College Avenue Gym — the very same court he used to play on.

Listen, I’m 21 years old. The kids I’m coaching are 19, and I’m going to be the greatest coach in the world, the next Lombardi. I’m practicing outside of the locker room, and the managers tell me you got to go in. Not yet, not yet, family, religion, Rutgers Basketball.

College Avenue Gym doesn’t host Division-1 basketball games anymore, as “the RAC” took over in the 1970’s, but is still a big part of campus activities and athletics. The vintage gym, known as “The Barn” around campus, was constructed in 1930 and hosted home games for Rutgers’ last Final Four team in 1976-77. In fact, the success of that season prompted the school to build “the RAC” — an arena with 5,000 more seats than “The Barn.” Currently, the retro-digs host Rutgers’ home wrestling matches, as well as women’s volleyball and other activities for students.

Currently, the retro-digs host Rutgers’ home wrestling matches, as well as women’s volleyball and other activities for students.

The actual court, which dons the Big Ten logo and the famous block “R”, will now be known as “Jimmy V. Court” — complete with Valvano’s looping signature.

As a player, Valvano led Rutgers to their highest achievement at the time — a NIT semi-final appearance in 1967. It was the first 20-win season in the program’s 53-year history, and Valvano’s last as a player. For his career, Jimmy V averaged double figures in all three seasons as a Scarlet Knight — finishing with a 15.2 career scoring average.

The honor is long overdue, especially with the rise of Valvano’s charity, the V Foundation, and Rutgers’ need for positive press. A lot of credit needs to go to Athletic Director Patrick Hobbs, the pillar behind the school’s effort to rebuild its athletic programs. In addition to the Valvano honor, the Rutgers’ basketball program also got the ‘green light’ on a brand-new practice facility, a $115 million project that will certainly help with recruiting efforts.

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You can donate to the V Foundation here .

Speaking with NJ Advance Media, Hobbs kept the door open for a future basketball game at the newly-minted “Jimmy V. Court”.

“As one of our celebrated venues, I’d certainly work with Coach Pikiell to see if down the road there was an exhibition or scrimmage, maybe with another New Jersey team, that was suitable and made sense.”

It would definitely make sense, as the Rutgers’ basketball program is at it’s highest point in years. Under first-year coach Steve Pikiell, the team achieved numerous milestones in 2016-17. Most notably: Big Ten wins (3), first Big Ten road win (2/4 at Penn State), and first Big Ten Tournament win (3/8 versus Ohio State).

As the architect of Rutgers’ basketball renaissance, Pikiell would love to see the current arena have a pulse like “The Barn” did when Valvano played.

In an interview with Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com, Pikiell preached, “We are trying to make the RAC the same environment that they had at The Barn.”

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With the Valvano name now closely associated with the program, it is certainly a possibility.

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